Blockchain technology tipped to revolutionise SA sport

JOHANNESBURG – ALREADY revolutionising the financial sector, blockchain technology is set to unlock the real value of South African sport, in the process breaking a world record.

This is according to a group of innovative South Africans who are making the most of this technology to build the largest decentralised database for sports data.

Blockchain, which by design is a decentralised technology that uses a global network of computers to manage a database of records or transactions jointly, has inspired the birth of SportsPodium a platform that allows individuals participating in sport to record their sports information on a daily basis.

The information is verified using various algorithms, and in return, blockchain will issue these individuals with tokens.

It is anticipated decentralising information is a vital step in changing the sports industry, with SportsPodium pledging a transparent and ethical way to facilitate the flow of funds in the sports industry and eventually reduce corruption.

“I think that blockchain technology has introduced us to a new way of solving some of our biggest problems,” SportsPodium co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jaco Rossouw, said in Johannesburg.

He said blockchain would enable people to capture their daily training, dietary and competition information while being rewarded with cryptocurrency.

“By incentivising users with blockchain tokens, we are essentially unlocking a value in sport that is both transparent and fair,” Rossouw said.

SportsPodium also has a network of sports ambassadors across several sporting disciplines, and this network of recognised, household names, along with community interaction, will ensure large-scale user adoption of the platform.

Natalie du Toit, the Paralympic swimming star and Chief Development Officer for SportsPodium, said sport empowers people and has the power to change the world.

She said SportsPodium was also a community project bringing together retired and current athletes as well as peers.

“The benefits of this project filter from top to bottom and bottom to top, and it’s an opportunity for us to really grow sport and level the playing field,” du Toit said.

SportsPodium will be holding a challenge to golfers worldwide from June 21 to 28 this year.

Using golf as the first sports discipline to populate its database, SportsPodium hopes to break the world record for the most golfers in one competition.

Rossouw said golf was their first sport because, historically, golfers are used to logging their data.

During the challenge in June SportsPodium will be asking golfers to enter their results into the app.

“There are over 60 million golfers worldwide. We need over 325 000 players to take part in order to break the world record,” Rossouw explained.– CAJ News